Work-gage for buttonhole-sewing machines.



B. T. LEVEQUE JWORK GAGE FOR BUTTONHOLB SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1910..

984:, 145. Patented Feb. 14,191

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BERNARD T. LEVEQUE, 013 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE REECE BUT TON I IpLE MACHINE COMPANY, 013 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

WORK-GAGE 1m BUTTQxqHoLE-SEWING MACHINES.

Patented Feb. 14, 1911..

Application filed September 19, 1910. Serial No. 582619.

To all whom it may concern: lie it known that LBnnxann 'l. LEYEQUE, a subject of the King of Great Britaim and resident oflioston, county of Suffolk, State of h lassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in ork-Gages for Buttoi'ihole-Sewlug Machines, of which the following descriptioi'i, in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, is a. specification, like characters on the draining representing like parts. This invention relates to sewing machines for making l)ttll'0l]li()l($, and it has for its 'objert the production of a simple and efficient work-gage for use in connection with such machines, to properly position the work for lllCfOlllllltiOll ot' a series of button-holes therein In certain machines for making buttonholes,'such for instance as'forms the subject 20 matter of United States Patent No. 349,355) granted September 21, 1886 to John Reece, a cutting blade is provided to cut the slit in thelifabric"atter'the stitching of the buttonhole has been efi'ected, and such machines are 5 used in makingbutton-hole pieces for button shoes. Theiliuttoi'nhole piece, of proper shape, is manipulated by the operator to' form a series. of button-holes one after another, and it of importance that the series of button-holes shall be properly and exactly spaced'aparflas otherwise the appearance of t-hc completed shoe will sufl'er, and if the b1ttl011-ll0le5 are irregularly spaced the buttons when attached 'mnst he correspondingly and irregularly spacedl this-spacing has been accomplished in miiotis Ways, so1netin1es by the eye, but more frequently by thensc o'f'a marking device which indents or otherwise marks'the work at thepoint the next button-hole is to be formed, and in such case the skill of the. 'o ierator is depended upon to place the hutton gho'lepiec'e in position with the indicatinghifiark as nearly as possible in the path of thetlit- Q ttii g derice, This is not an accuratei recess, manifestly, and even in the hands of a'skill'cd and careful operator mis takes-will oft-en occur resulting in spoiled arork sf bility and to that end I have provided a n'ork-gage adapted to he n'lounted 'on the bed-plate of the machine; andhaving a proi(-.Cll0 11 \\'lll0ll is inserted in a completed button-hole to'thereby position the work prop- Heretotore" My present intention obviates this lia oil for the formation of another buttonhole. The work-gage is made adjustable so that the spacing between successive buttonholes can be varied according to the requirements of any particular piece of Work, such adjustment changing the distance between the projection ofthe work-gage and the path "of the lmtton-hole cutting device.

The Various novel features of my invenlion will be fully described in the snbjoined specification and particularly pointed out in the following claims. Herein I have shown my note] K rk-gage in connection with the bed-plate, and some of its appurtenances, of a. machine such as is shown in the Reece patentabore referred to. t

Figure l is a top, plan view of a portion of the lied-plate of a button-hole sewing ma chine. with a work-gage applied thereto embodying my present invention, .the'work be-' ing indicated in' dotted lines to avoid confusion; Fig. 2 is a-partial transverse section,

-on the line 2-2, Fig. 1, and a part of the lnitton-hole cutting device is'shown; Fig. 3 1s a vertical sectional detail on the line 3 3, Fig. '2.

The stationary bed-plate a, the bear1ngs c of a movable frame a' adapted to travel upon Ways a on the bed-plate, said bear ings supporting the pivots for the cutting blade, (partly shown at c"; Fig. 2) the cutting-bed 5 "n'iorahle with the frame (1V in the slot (113W (Fig. 1) the lower members m of I:

having a longitudinal slot 3 near such outer v end, th rec. inner end of said arm having fixedly ittachcd to 1t an upturned projec: hon 4, .tnrcfcrably rounded orconve'xed at it's'end, seeFig. 2.

A headed post comprising a: heatlfi, and a threaded shankG is screwed into an upright,- threaded hole 7 Fig. 3, inthe bedvliilate near one sidc thereof, the shank passingithrough the slot 3 in the arm 1, and a spring washer 8 surrounding the shank 1s interposed be- "tween'the top of the bed-plate and the arm,

pressing the latter against the head of the post;

7 device to retard any angular movement of the arm and post about the axis of the latter as a center.

A horizontal, threaded hole 9 in the head receives a threaded stud 10, provided with next lnittoirhole.

a milled or other head 11 and annularly grooved at'12 to enter a notch 13 in the. upturned part 2 of the arm 1. By rotating the stud 10 in one direction or the other the arm 1 will be moved longitudinally with relation to the headed post, to thereby move the.

projection 4 toward or away from the path of the cutting device 1:, it being remembered that upon the descent of the latter upon the cutting-bed g the button-hole slit is made in the work. When such adjustment of the. arm is efi'ected the springwasher S keeps the arm snugly against the bottom of the head 5, and no angular movement. of the arm can take. place unless the headed post is turned.

Sometimes an edge-gage G is used on 1nachines of this character, see Fig. l to position the edge of the button-hole' piece, indicated in Fig. l by dotted linesat W.

The work-gage is set by adjusting the arm 1 so that the distance of the projection 4 from the path of the cutting blade 0" is equal to the desired spacing between successive button-holes to be made in the button-hole piece W. The first button-hole is now made therein, at the proper point, and thereafter the operator places the work over the arm 1, inserting the projection 4.- in the eye-end of the slit of the button-hole first made, with the edge of the' work positioned, as by the edge-gage G. Thesewing machine is then started, and a button-hole is stitched and cut at the proper point, for the projection it in the completed lnitton-hole properly positions the work for theformation of the As one button-hole after another is made the work is fed along by the operator, and in the ease of a buttonhole piece the projection t will be caused to enter the slit of the last completed buttonhole, until the desired number of buttonholes have been'made. It will be manifest that the spacingof the. button-holes of the series must be absolutely. accurate, and that the space between anytwo will be surely and definitely deter ined with the greatest exactitude. The angular movement of the Work-gage with, thepost;6 is to enable the projection 4 to be moved toward or away from the edge-gage G, according to the distance the eye end of each butt0n-hole is to' be from the edge of the work 'W.

In Fig. 1 I have shown four completed button-holes, the projection 4 being In the" eye end of the last one made, positioning the work properly for the formation of the fifth button-hole of the series.

Various changes or modifications in details of construction and arrangement may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the annexed claims. Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a button-hole sewing machine provided with a cutting bl'ade,'in combination, the bed-plate awork-gage mounted thereon and having a projection to enter a completed 'lnitton-hole and position the work for the formation of the next button hole, a sup-7' porting post rotatably mounted in the bedplate and in sliding engagement with the worlegage, andmanually adj ustable means connecting said post and work-gage to move the latter longitudinally with relation to the post, to adjust the projection with relation to the path of the cutting blade. 7

2. in a button-hole sewing machine provided with a button-hole cutting device, a work-gage comprising an elongated arm. having an upward projection to enter a completed button-hole and. position the work for the formation of the next button-hole, means to support said arm with the projection thereon in operative position with rela tion to the cutting device, and a rotatable, threaded connection between saidgmeans and the arm, manual rotation of said connection to the supporting ineans to adjust the position ofthe projection. l

In a sewing machine of the class described, a bed-plate, a headed post screwed manually adjustable. connection between said arm and the head of the post, to move said arm longiti'ulinally with relation to the post and thereby adjust the position of the projection, and a spring interposed between the bed-plate and the arm adjacent the post.-

at. A work-gage for button-hole sewing machines, comprising an elongated arm adapted to extend over the bed-plate of the machine and beneath the- Work, an upward projection on the tree end-of the arm, to

. moving the arm longitudinally with relation enter a completed button-hole andposition" the work for the formation of another button-hole, a devicetoretain the-arm upon the bed-plate, said device being rotatably mounted in the bed-plate and'in sliding; en-- gagement with the arm, and means between said device and the arm to effect longitudiinner end 1 nal adjustment of the arm relatively to said device and to insure rotative movement of the-arm with sand retaining device.

5. A Work-gage for button-hole sewing machines, comprising an elongated arm upturned at its outer end and longitudinally slotted adjacent thereto and provided at its With an upward projection to enter a completed button-hole, a headed post extendedthrough the slot in the arm and adapted to be screwed into the bedplat'e of next button-hole,

"the machine, the head of the poet; having a and an ad usting stud'rota-- threaded hole, tahly mounted in the upturned part of the arm and'screwed into said threaded hole, rotation of the stud efleeting longitudinal movement of the arm relatively to said post, to vary the distance between the latter and the upturned projection.

(3. A work-gage for button-hole sewing machines, comprising an arm adaptedto extend over the bed-plate of the machine and between it and the Work, said arm hav ing' a longitudinal slot near its outer end and. provided with an upward projection at its inner end to enter a completed button-hole and position the ork for the formation of the a connecting post adapted to pass through the slot of the arm andinto the bed-plate, to retain the arm "thereon, and manually operated means between said and arm to efl'ectlongitudinal adj ustment oi thelatter relatively to the post. V

7. In a machine for making button-holes, a bed-plate, an upright post screwed thereinto, a Work-gage extended over the hedplate and adapted to be moved angularly with said post as a fulcrum and also movand manually operated,

able longitudinally with relation to the post, friction means to normally prevent such an gular movement of the Work-gage and post, positively actlng means to eflect longitudinal movement of the Work-gage and maintain the same in adpost justed position, said Work-gage including a projection to enter a completed button-hole and position .the Work for the formation of another button-h0le.

S. In a machine for making button-holes, a bed-plate, an upright headed post mounted thereon, a Work-gage comprising an elongated arm extended over the bed-plate and longitudinally slotted near one end to receive the shankjof the post beneath the head thereof, and a projection on the free end of the arm, to enter a completed button-h0le and position the Work for the formation of another lJUlZlZOIl-ll'OlG, said arm at its slotted end being upturned, a threaded adjusting studrotatably mounted-in the upturned end and screwed into the head of the post, rota; tion of the stud eifeeting longitudinal ad justment of the work-gage relatively to the post, and a friction washer surrounding the shank of the post and interposed between the bed-plate and said arm, to retard angular movementthereof with the post.

a bed-plate, a work-gage having a projection to enter'a completed button-hole and posh tion-the Work for the formation of another button-hole, Work-gage and the bed-plate, the Work-gage being angularly movable ivith tion as a center and also movable longitudinally with relation thereto, and means to maintain the Work-engaging projection at a n'edetermined distance from said connec- 1 tion While permitting an angular change of the Work-gage. ,In testimony whereof, I have name to this specification, in the two subscribing witnesses.

BERNARD T LEVEQUE. Witnesses: JOHN C. Enwanns,

' THOMAS J. DRUMMOND.

signed my presence of 9. In a machine for making buttonholes,

a connection between said id eonnec- I 

